Pop Culture Blog

Peppard: The night Starck Club got the Neiman’s touch

Dallas filmmaker Michael Cain’s current work on separate documentaries about the Starck Club and retailer Stanley Marcus unearthed a historical nugget: Neiman Marcus played a significant role in establishing Starck as the quintessential club of the ’80s.

Before his death last year from ALS, former Starck doorman Bob Amaro sat for an interview for Cain’s Starck Project film and explained that in the early days, the club was cool, but not always full.

“The club wanted to be exclusive, to find a very chic, beautiful crowd,” Amaro explained. “But these same people might not come to see you every night of the week for months at a time. We were struggling to find that footing.”

Initially, the club’s only advertising appeared in Andy Warhol’s house organ, Interview magazine.

But against all advice, the club ran a month-long radio promotion offering no cover charge for people arriving between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Simultaneously, founder Blake Woodall cut a deal with Neiman Marcus offering free club admission to all guests attending a celebrity-filled party for emerging designers at the downtown Neiman’s.

That night, worlds collided. Half of the club was filled with radio listeners who’d come for a free look without paying the steep cover charge while the other half had chicly attired fashion purists who had come over from Neiman’s.

“Suddenly it all worked,” says Cain. “People who had never seen a club like this were in a room full of fashion people and famous celebrities. Then, the word of mouth spread. From that week on, it became the Starck Club people know and still talk about to this day.”

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News, reviews, nuggets and tidbits from the world of pop culture, including movies, music, TV, local and national celebrities.